Shannon Rutherford was a middle sectionsurvivor of OceanicFlight 815 and was the stepsister of Boone Carlyle. She and Boone always argued before and after the crash. Before the crash, her father had died in a car crash and she had been cut off by her stepmother, who also refused to give her any of her father's money. She used men, especially Boone, to get what she wanted, which eventually led to a one night-stand with Boone. After the crash, she was very selfish at times, refusing to help the other survivors, as she insisted they would be rescued. However, she assisted in trying to get a signal on the transceiver, and used her French skills to translate Rousseau's signal. She also had an asthma attack when her inhaler ran out, but Sun eased her symptoms. She eventually formed a romantic relationship with Sayid, which helped her realize her selfishness and led to a change in attitude. As she and Sayid went for a picnic, Boone fell out of a plane and died of injuries. After Boone died, Shannon sought revenge on John Locke, attempting to shoot him, but Sayid interfered. She eventually forgave Sayid, but began to have strange visions of Walt who she thought was on the raft. On day 48 she ran from camp with Sayid to search for Walt; however she collided with the Tailies and was unintentionally shot in the stomach and killed by Ana Lucia Cortez after chasing another image of Walt. She died in Sayid's arms having finally gained his confidence and belief in her.

In the flash-sideways, she was reunited with her lover, Sayid Jarrah and along with their friends, they moved on.

Contents

Before the Crash

Childhood

Shannon grew up without a mother and lived her early childhood alone with her father. When she was 8, Shannon's father married Sabrina Carlyle, who had a 10-year-old son, Boone Carlyle. Sabrina became Shannon's stepmother and Boone became Shannon's stepbrother. Shannon never had a good relationship with Sabrina, but Shannon's and Boone's relationship blossomed over time. ("Do No Harm") ("Abandoned")

Father's death

Shannon became a ballet instructor at the age of 18 along with her best friend, Nora. After wrapping up a class, Shannon received a call from Sabrina saying that they needed to meet at St. Sebastian's Hospital because Adam had been involved in a car accident. At St. Sebastian's, Jack is visible for a brief moment as he bumps the doctor informing the family about Adam's accident. The doctor then proceeds to inform the family that Adam stopped breathing at the scene of the accident and they were unable to revive him. Shannon was devastated, and from then on, tried to distance herself from Sabrina as much as possible. ("Abandoned")

Shannon and Boone reunited at Adam's funeral after a long time apart. Shannon was relieved to have a familiar shoulder to cry on and immediately turned to Boone. Shannon told Boone that she had applied for a prestigious internship at the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York City. Shannon assured Boone that she may get it, even though the odds were not on her side. Boone agreed but still showed some doubt. ("Abandoned")

While having breakfast at her apartment, Nora walked in with an envelope in her hand; it was the reply for her internship entry. She had been granted the internship. Shannon then received a call from the bank and was told that her checks were bouncing. Nora found this unbelievable as she knew that Shannon was wealthy. ("Abandoned")

Shannon reluctantly turned to Sabrina for help. Shannon told Sabrina about her situation, and Sabrina's reaction was extremely cold. When Shannon asked about the money that her father had given her in his will, Sabrina stated that no money had been left to Shannon. Shocked and angry, Shannon asked why this was so, but Sabrina responded indirectly: "Maybe he wants you find your own way." Sabrina left without giving any help to Shannon. ("Abandoned")

Shannon asked Boone if he could somehow get the money from Sabrina. Shannon found out that Boone had failed at getting the money when he turned up in her apartment, empty handed. Boone assumed that it was because she (Sabrina) knew why he asked for the money. Shannon asked if she could stay with Boone at New York, when another bombshell landed: Boone was leaving New York. Boone offered some of his own money, but Shannon asked Boone if he was giving her the money because he didn't believe she could be successful on her own. Boone denied this, but when Shannon asked him directly if he believes in her, he scoffed and didn't answer. Shannon angrily told him that she didn't want the money and forced the envelope into his hands. ("Abandoned")

France

According to Boone, Shannon spent some time in France sometime after her father's death. Later, Shannon revealed she lived in St. Tropez and dated Laurent's father. In a deleted flashback scene, Shannon goes to one of her ballet student's house in St. Tropez and met Sophie's parents Philippe and Dominique and her younger brother Laurent. According to Shannon, she worked there as Laurent's babysitter and he used to watch Finding Nemo dubbed in French, featuring the song "La Mer", and he watched the movie over and over. According to Shannon, she also dated a sailor, who could possibly have been Bryan. ("Pilot, Part 1") ("Whatever the Case May Be") ("...In Translation")

Conning Boone

After returning from her job as an au pair, Shannon began to routinely con money out of her stepmother and/or Boone in an attempt to get the money that she felt was owed to her. Boone said he had paid off 3 men to break up with her. Shannon's most recent attempt to get money was by faking an abusive relationship with Bryan, the man she was living with in Sydney, Australia. When Boone found out that Shannon was lying to him, Bryan assaulted him. Shannon begged Bryan to stop, allowing Boone to escape back to his hotel. She later showed up at Boone's hotel room, drunk and upset. Shannon told him that Bryan took all of the money. She shocked Boone by telling him she knew that he loved her, and uninhibited due to the alcohol, she began to kiss him. Boone didn't stop her, and they had sex. Shannon severely regretted their actions afterward, and told Boone that she wanted things to return to normal once they got home. They boarded Flight 815 the following morning.("Hearts and Minds")

According to Boone, Shannon had been married once, but was separated. ("Hearts and Minds")

Flight 815

Shannon was then seen in the waiting area sitting down and doing a word seek puzzle. Sayid asked Shannon if she could watch his bag and said that he'd be back in a moment. Shannon, who was irritable and hungover, replies, "Sure, whatever." She later walked off with Boone, leaving the bag on the chairs unattended. Shannon initiated an argument with Boone over why he failed to purchase first class seats on the flight instead of coach seats in the middle of the plane. Boone contended that Shannon couldn't take care of herself and that she needed him. To prove her independence and cunning, she informed a security guard that "some Arab guy left his bag in the chairs downstairs and then just walked away," showing Boone that she was capable of things that he never expected. ("Exodus, Part 1")

In the airport, prior to boarding, Nikki and Paulo were interrupted by Shannon loudly complaining about a lack of seating in the café waiting area and Boone being responsible for them not getting first class tickets. Boone politely asks Paulo for their extra chair, and he agrees, but Shannon pulls Boone away, accusing his "flirting with random guys" of delaying them. ("Exposé")

Shannon and Boone were briefly seen aboard 815 right before the crash, as Charlie stumbled over them in order to escape from Cindy. ("Pilot, Part 2")

Shannon sat in seat 9F, Business Class, next to Boone, who was seated in 9E on the plane. ("Exodus, Part 2")

On the Island

Days 1-44 (Season 1)

Shannon and Boone survived the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 because they were denied seats in first class, the area of the plane in which nobody survived. After the crash, a traumatized Shannon screamed at the crash site where a man told her to watch the gas. Shannon wanted little to do with everyone else and refused to help build camp, believing that they would soon be rescued. She was offered a candy bar by her brother, which she flatly rejected. She didn't want to give up on her diet because they would be off the Island soon enough. Despite their circumstances, Boone's and Shannon's petty war continued. ("Pilot, Part 1")

The next day, Shannon sunbathed and talked to Claire, finally interacting with the other survivors. Later Shannon remorsefully cried over the dead body of the crewman who refused to put her into first class, effectively saving her life. When Boone callously criticized her for not helping out, she decided to go on a jungle trek with Sayid, Kate, Charlie, Sawyer and Boone to prove to him that she wasn't useless. Her assistance was vital in translating the French distress signal that Sayid received on the radio from the cockpit. ("Pilot, Part 2")

On the way back to the beach, Boone lifted the gun from Sawyer, who awakened. The group fought and Shannon informed them of Boone's disagreement with guns. When they arrived back to the beach, Shannon complained that Edward Mars was dying too loudly. A few hours later, Boone gave a pair of sunglasses to Shannon. ("Tabula Rasa")

The next day, Shannon and Boone argued over caring for others and catching food. Shortly after the argument, Shannon used her charm to get Charlie to catch her a fish. After Charlie caught the fish, Shannon showed Boone the fish, telling him that she told him she could get a fish. Just after they began to argue again over using people. ("Walkabout")

After Boone left her in charge of their part in triangulating the signal, he runs to the caves to help Jack after he fell victim to a cave-in. Although distracted, she succeeded in letting off the signal bottle rocket on time. ("The Moth")

Later, Shannon began experiencing asthma attacks, which was unusual since many of the other survivors' physical ailments ceased after the crash. To compound the problem, Boone could not find her inhaler refills that he had brought in his checked luggage on the plane.

As Shannon's attacks became more life-threatening, Boone began to suspect that Sawyer was hoarding them with other items he confiscated in the luggage. Sawyer refused to cooperate with the investigation, which led to him being tortured by Sayid. It was later discovered that Sawyer did not, in fact, have the refills. ("Confidence Man")

While Shannon sunbathed, Boone told her that Hurley and others made a golf course in excitement. Boone and Shannon went to the golf course and watched everyone play. ("Solitary")

Shannon considered moving to the caves with Boone, but when Hurley was collecting everyone's information, she expressed her doubts about the caves' safety after hearing that Claire was attacked. ("Raised by Another")

After Claire was kidnapped by Ethan, Shannon told Boone not to go out into the jungle to find Claire; however, he went anyway. At night in the caves, Shannon approached Kate and expressed her worry about Boone. Kate informed her that Locke and Boone had not returned yet. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")

After Sayid returned from his encounter with Rousseau, he asked for Shannon's help in translating the French writing on the maps. Shannon reluctantly agreed and struggled at first, becoming frustrated with Sayid and herself. It was during her work with the map translation that Shannon developed feelings for Sayid. At night Shannon told Sayid about Laurent repeatedly watching a movie featuring the song "La Mer". Realizing the connection between the song and their current situation, Shannon then began to sing it. ("Whatever the Case May Be")

Shannon's attraction to Sayid got the attention of Boone, who was visibly displeased. Boone explained to Locke, "You don't know Shannon. She's smart and she's special in a lot of ways". Locke drugged Boone, sensing he might tell Shannon of their secret trips to uncover the hatch.

Under the influence of the hallucinogen, Boone heard Shannon screaming in the jungle and saw her tied up to a tree by Locke, while the Monster was heard. Boone freed her and ran and hid from the Monster in a mangrove trunk. They got out of the mangrove trunk, the monster gone. Walking through the jungle Shannon asked why Locke tied her up. Eventually, Boone told her about the hatch and why he tied her up, leading to more questions. A few minutes later, the Monster was heard again and it was viciously attacking Shannon. Boone searched for Shannon, but when he found her bloody, crumpled body lying by the stream, he realized it was too late. That night, Boone approached Locke in the caves and attacked him for indirectly causing Shannon's death. Boone, however, realized that Shannon was alive and well and chatting happily with Sayid. Locke informed Boone it was a vision and Boone admitted that he felt free from the burden of caring for his step-sister. ("Hearts and Minds")

The next day, Shannon and Sayid explained Rousseau's map to Jack. Michael interrupted them, telling them his idea of making a raft. Shannon dismissed the idea, "I get really sea-sick." When Claire arrived back at the camp, she asked Shannon why everybody was avoiding her. She then told Claire about the death of Scott. ("Special")("Homecoming")

Shannon and Arzt argued with Kate about the case of guns found in the waterfall. When Boone later talked to Sayid, causing him to temporarily reconsider their relationship, Shannon headed to the jungle to quarrel with Boone, but only found Locke. In their conversation, Locke told Shannon that everyone got a new life on the Island, and advised her to start hers. She accepted John's advice and was determined to begin her own with Sayid. ("...In Translation")("Exposé")

After falling in the drug smugglers' plane, Boone was seriously injured. While Boone was dying, Shannon was on a date with Sayid on another beach and told Sayid the truth about her relationship with Boone. Shannon and Sayid were happily holding hands when they came back, Jack told her about Boone. Shannon went directly to the caves and cried over Boone's body. ("Do No Harm")

After Boone's death, Sayid asked Shannon if there was anything he can do, but Shannon did not reply. At the funeral, Shannon did not say anything, instead Sayid gave a speech. After the funeral, Shannon sat at the beach in silence. Locke walked over tentatively, and offered her Boone's belongings. Locke told Shannon that Boone was brave, and that he knew how it felt to lose someone you love. Shannon was distraught and looked for someone to blame. Shannon became convinced that Locke was responsible for her step-brother's death. Back at Sayid's tent, Shannon reminded Sayid that he offered to help her. The only help that she wanted was revenge on John Locke. However, Sayid didn't kill or hurt Locke and informed her he was telling the truth that Boone's death was an accident. After hearing from Kate about the Halliburton case containing guns, Shannon stole the key from Jack and took a gun with the intent of killing Locke. Kate, Jack and Sayid ran into the jungle and found Shannon with a gun pointed at Locke. Sayid intervened and saves Locke, but caused Shannon to turn away from him. Eventually, she managed to forgive him. ("The Greater Good")

Right before Walt headed off on the raft, he approached Shannon to ask her if she would accept the responsibility of taking care of Vincent. At first, Shannon was her usual self, acting short with Walt. When Walt asked her to take care of Vincent, however, her attitude changed. Shannon knelt down and began to pet Vincent, asking (jokingly) what made Walt think she needed a dog to take care of her. Walt proceeded to tell Shannon that Vincent was good company when his mother died, and that nobody would talk to him. He also said that Vincent was a good listener, and that he might do the same for Shannon, if she wanted to talk about Boone after his death. Shannon accepts Walt's offer, and when the raft leaves, Vincent jumps into the sea to follow Walt. After repeated instruction from Walt to "go back," Vincent does so, meeting Shannon at the water's edge. ("Exodus, Part 1")

Before going to the caves, Shannon tried to bring Boone's suitcase full of clothes, but Shannon fell over dumping out all of Boone's clothes. Sayid helped her and she lead the group with Sayid to the caves. After Claire was attacked by Rousseau, Shannon was the first on the scene with Sayid and Charlie. At the caves, Sun told Shannon about being punished on the Island. When Sayid returned, Shannon ran back into Sayid's arms when he arrived from rescuing Aaron. ("Exodus, Part 2")

Days 44-48 (Season 2)

Shannon tried to find Vincent when he ran off into the jungle, as she felt strongly that it was her responsibility to do so. She claimed keeping up with Vincent was the only thing anyone ever asked her to do, and she was not going to let Walt down. Because she was still exhausted from not sleeping since Boone's death, Sayid attempted to dissuade her, but when he failed, he followed her into the jungle. When the pair became separated, Shannon fell, then began to hear whispers and then saw a vision of Walt standing in front of her, dripping wet and speaking backwards to her. However the vision was gone by the time Sayid returned to her with Vincent. After returning to the caves, Shannon insisted on recounting her vision of Walt and hearing the whispers, possibly of others, a prospect which upset Claire, Sun and the rest of the group. When Jack returned from the hatch, Shannon asked him if he saw the others. Charlie rudely yelled at her, telling her there were no "Others". Shannon then remarked by asking Charlie what he knew or didn't know, just because he hadn't heard them. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")

When Claire found the message bottle from the raft, Shannon became the second to know about the second raft being destroyed after Claire told her.

While feeding Vincent, Sayid came up to her and tells her he has something he had to show her. Sayid had built Shannon a new tent to live in, which they made love in on the same night. Moments after, when Sayid stepped out of the tent to get water, Shannon had another vision of Walt. She screamed at the top of her voice, making many people awaken. When she told Sayid what she saw, he did not believe her, saying that it was only a dream. Shannon once again felt that no one took her seriously and left Sayid in frustration. ("Abandoned")

On day 48, Shannon was determined to find Walt. Shannon asked Hurley and Rose where Walt's clothes were, so Vincent could pick up Walt's scent and lead her to him. Shannon told the dog to "find Walt." Vincent then lead her directly to Boone's grave, where Sayid found her and assumed she was there to mourn her dead step-brother. Shannon set off into the jungle, determined to find Walt. While looking for Walt, Shannon told Sayid about the bottle and runs off again. Sayid caught her and tried to apologize for doubting her. Later, Shannon again saw Walt, but this time Sayid did too. Sayid told her that he believed her and loved her. As Shannon ran toward Walt, she was shot once in the stomach by Ana Lucia Cortez, who thought she was one of the Others.

Post-death

After Shannon was shot dead, Sayid placed her body on the ground gently, and then tried to attack Ana Lucia. While Sayid was tied up, Ana Lucia remorsefully looked over her body. She later talked to him saying, she was sorry for killing Shannon, and that it was a mistake. Later on, Sayid carried her body back to camp to be buried. ("Collision")

The next day Sayid professed his love for Shannon when he gave her eulogy. The Tailies, Eko, Libby and Bernard attended the funeral, paying their respects, but Ana Lucia refused to attend. With Sayid having dug her grave, Shannon was buried next to her brother, Boone, who had died seven days earlier. Both of them were laid to rest near the other deceased Islanders in the graveyard. Kate, who was not present during the funeral, later came to pay her respects at Shannon's grave, and Sayid placed a necklace there. ("What Kate Did")

When Henry Gale was captured by the castaways, it was Sayid's love for Shannon and his grief over her death that pushed him into torturing the captive. After Sayid felt Henry's testimony of burying his wife was unbelievable due to the fact he didn't remember how many feet deep he dug the grave, Sayid exclaimed "You would remember!"("One of Them")

While they trekked to Henry Gale's balloon, Sayid eventually forgave Ana Lucia for her shooting, claiming she was just protecting her people. He then blamed Shannon's accidental death on the Others. ("The Whole Truth")

When Hurley asks Sayid for ideas for his first date with Libby, he suggests taking her to the beach he took Shannon to on the night Boone died, exclaiming sadly "I took Shannon there once." ("Two for the Road")

During the Island's time-shifting, the survivors found themselves back on the day of Boone's death and Sawyer witnessed Aaron's birth. Sawyer was clearly shocked by seeing both Kate and Claire, and Locke asked him if he saw anyone - citing Shannon and Charlie as examples. ("The Little Prince")

Just beyond the opening of the Cliffside cave was a room in which Jacob had written the last names of several candidates on the walls and ceiling, with a number preceding each one. When the wall was first seen, all of the names and numbers were crossed out except for those preceded by one of The Numbers. The Man in Black explained, each name was the name of a candidate. Shannon's surname Rutherford was crossed out, most likely because of her death. Her surname was also written on The Lighthouse Wheel. According to the wheel, her number was 32. ("The Substitute")("Lighthouse")

Jack and Hurley found Shannon's inhaler at the caves, three years after she died. ("Lighthouse")

Later, The Man in Black cryptically offered anything Sayid wanted in exchange for his help. The one thing Sayid wanted had "died in his arms", later revealed as Shannon, who would awaken him after death. ("Sundown")("The End")

Flash sideways

Unlike her previous life, Shannon was not on Oceanic Flight 815. Aboard Flight 815, Boone spoke about Shannon and her relationship in Australia during his conversation with Locke and said that she did not want to leave with him. He referred to Shannon as his "sister". ("LA X, Part 1")

Later, Boone teamed up with Hugo Reyes to get Sayid Jarrah and Shannon together once again. According to Boone, he brought her from Australia after a lot of effort.

Boone and Hurley arranged for Boone to get into a fight and get punched. Shannon tried to get the attacker to leave her brother alone, but only got pushed instead. This prompted Sayid, who observed the fight from Hurley's Hummer, to intervene. After Sayid disposed of the attacker, Shannon raised her eyes to see her rescuer. The two shared an emotional reunion, remembering each other, as well as their former lives, and fell into a kiss. Meanwhile, Hugo and Boone watched, satisfied at their success. Together once again, Sayid and Shannon met and went to the church where the core group of Flight 815 survivors, alongside Juliet Burke, Desmond Hume and Penelope Widmore, "moved on" to the next stage of their afterlives.("The End")

Shannon and Sayid made their way to the church, where they reunited with all their friends from the Island. After Christian Shephard opened the doors of the church, she and the others were ready to move on together. ("The End")

Producers' commentary

We knew that Shannon was going to die before we started Season 2. Shannon's death served a number of story purposes, the most important being, that we wanted the tail section people, and our core group of castaways to be sort of forced to merge under incredibly uncomfortable circumstances.

Trivia

During an interview about conceiving the idea of Shannon, producers stated that Shannon was based on Paris Hilton.

Shannon was the fourteenth character to have a flashback and the last of the original cast.

Shannon was the only main character not to have a centric episode in Season 1, although she did feature prominently in Boone's "Hearts and Minds" flashback.

Shannon is the only main character never to have visited a DHARMA station, counting Boone's trips to the hatch exterior as visits to a DHARMA station.

Shannon's episode count is 32. She died on her 26th (Sayid & Shannon's POV) and 27th (replayed but in the Tailies POV) appearance. In her 28th and 29th she was only present with her corpse and in her 30th appearance she returned via flashbacks. She made her 31st and 32nd appearances via flash-sideaways.

Shannon has never met Ben, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Richard, Lapidus, Eloise, Pierre and Ilana. However, she's met the rest of the main fuselage-survivors. She also saw the tail-section survivors briefly, though it should be noted she was dying at the time so this can hardly be termed "meeting" them.

In "LA X, Part 1", the flash sidewaysBoone mentions that he was in Australia to rescue his sister from a bad relationship, almost certainly a reference to an alternate Shannon and her troubles with Bryan, although details are unknown.

This was a rewrite due to Maggie Grace turning down an offer to appear in the premiere. [1]

Originally, Shannon was set to make an appearance on the final season premiere, but Maggie Grace was unable to film any scenes due to her busy schedule. Thus, the backstory was rewritten to accommodate this.

Later, Maggie was able to make an appearance on the final episode "The End". Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed to EW.com: "We're really excited about having her back on the show," says Cuse, "and we have a good story for her."

Shannon was the first main character to be killed by another main character.